All I've Got to Say
by Daybreak-chan
Summary: A little monologue of Jazz's about a secret she's keeping for someone else (One-shot)


It's hard, you know. Keeping a secret, I mean.  
  
Especially if it's someone else's.  
  
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If I really think about it, though, keeping it isn't the hard part. The hard part is that I'm not supposed to know. I really don't know why I never tell him I know. I suppose that if I do, it will wreck any remaining illusions I have of my family being normal.  
  
Hello, my name's Jazz Fenton. My little brother is a ghost.  
  
All right, not a ghost exactly. A half ghost. I don't really understand how that's possible, but if anyone could manage it, I suppose it would be Danny. He's always been a bit... unusual.  
  
How do I know? Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out something weird is going on with Danny. In fact, the two supposed "geniuses" of the family are always too wrapped up in themselves to notice how odd he's been acting.  
  
But it didn't occur to me that something was really wrong until two days after the accident in the lab.  
  
Danny had left his bedroom door open, see, and I was passing by on my way to the bathroom. It would be an understatement to say that I was surprise to find my brother sleeping peacefully -- a foot above his bed.  
  
I was going to ask him about it the next day, I swear. It's only... I wanted it to be a dream. I just can't stand living in such a... conventional family, if you can call it that.  
  
I found out what was really going on that weekend, when Sam and Tucker came over for the night.  
  
Yes, I was spying. I may pretend that my family doesn't exist at school, but I'll be the first to admit that I really care about that little twerp. And trust me, I was more than a little worried about him.  
  
Sure, it started out normal enough. Talk about school, a movie, numerous raids on the fridge, and a good measure of utterly juvenile horseplay. I was about to give up and go to bed, dismissing the "floating incident" as a dream, when Danny started talking.  
  
"Uh... I actually had something I wanted to talk to you guys about," he said, shuffling his feet nervously.  
  
Sam gave him an odd look. "Sure, Danny, go ahead. You know you can talk to us about anything. What's bothering you?"  
  
"Yeah!" Tucker draped an arm around his friend's shoulder. "We've been friends since, like, forever. So what's the scoop, huh?"  
  
"Well.... I'm kinda a half-ghost or something like that."  
  
I practically choked at this announcement, but thankfully I was drowned out by the laughter.  
  
"Aw, man! And I thought you were being serious! Good one, Danny!" Tucker snickered, giving Danny a friendly punch. Even Sam was laughing. It really was funny, now that I look back on it. If only it had been an actual joke.  
  
"Cut it out, guys! I'm serious!" The room quieted almost instantly. I think it was the note of borderline hysteria in Danny's voice. He took a deep breath, to steady his nerves, I assumed. Then he changed.  
  
It's strangely disturbing to see someone you've known all your life change into a complete stranger before your eyes. Sure, he still looked like Danny. Body type and all, I mean, not the white hair or the green eyes that reminded me of some things I've seen in Dad's lab. And he still looked nervous as hell. It was the way he held himself that unnerved me. Gone was the impishness that seemed to come with being a younger brother. He suddenly seemed older, more confident.  
  
It didn't help that he was floating in midair.  
  
He told them everything, starting with the accident. They seemed understanding enough, for which I was grateful. After all, he wasn't going to get support at home about this when Mom and Dad find out. If they find out.  
  
I don't know when he started fighting other ghosts, but once I knew his first secret it wasn't too hard to figure out. Breaking curfew, friends showing up at odd hours with lame excuses, the slipping grades, and all the weird things going on at school. It just seemed to fit, y'know?  
  
Actually, it was laughably easy to figure out what was going on. Not that I'm laughing. No, I won't lie: I'm scared to death. There's nothing I can do to help him. Unlike him, I've got no special powers. I'd be just as helpless as his friends are, out there fighting. Probably more so. After all, I'm just his nagging big sister; there's no way I can encourage him the way his friends can at his age.  
  
But I have found a way to help. There's no way Danny could survive if our parents knew about him. I know, I've been on the receiving end of their so- called "ghost extraction methods".  
  
I've lost count of how many times I've saved my brother from his own tongue. Every time he says something too close to the truth, I cut in with a load of bull justified in the name of sisterly concern. I make up excuses for him as much as I can, but I can only do so much without either Danny or my parents getting suspicious.  
  
There are days that I can't even remember why I defend him. Sometimes I want to yell at him, tell him to grow up and keep his own damn secrets.  
  
But he's already far older than I am, although he doesn't play the part.  
  
I know that some day he'll run into a problem bigger than he is, and I'll have to explain to everyone why I didn't do more to help him.  
  
I think I know what my answer will be.  
  
Danny made his choice when he decided who to tell-- and who not to tell-- about his abilities. I have to respect that. He doesn't need me breathing down his neck like the surrogate mother I've been to him whenever out mother was too caught up in work.  
  
He's bigger then all that now, and-- despite all of my personal nightmares about losing him-- I could be prouder of him. Danny Phantom. My baby brother who grew up much too fast.  
  
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Ah, my first Danny Phantom fic. It's a one-shot.  
  
Yes, that means that I actually finished a fic. And to those of you who know me, that does indeed mean that the world is going to end.  
  
Hey, I can't help it if I'm easily distracted.  
  
Anyway, has anyone else noticed this about Jazz? She keeps butting into conversations where Danny might tell his parents about his powers (like in the first episode). Not only that, in "One of a Kind" she trys to stop everyone from barging in on his fight with Skulker.  
  
Then again, I could be imagining things again.  
  
Review if you want to!  
  
Daybreak-chan 


End file.
